FEE STRUCTURES & BILLING PROCEDURES
Tuition is based on a yearly fee which is divided proportionally according to the length of each school Term. Invoices are sent out four times a year at the beginning of each Term, and cover that Term’s tuition costs.
Any additional, miscellaneous expenses will be added to the student’s account during the course of the Term.
ABSENT POLICY & PRIOR NOTIFICATION OF MISSED LESSONS
If a pupil is unable to attend a lesson, notification must be given before 7.30am on the morning of the lesson. Earlier notification would be appreciated.
If proper advance notification is provided, a lesson may be ‘made up’ during normal teaching hours (excluding weekends) provided a time is available within 3 weeks of the original scheduled lesson.
If the lesson can be ‘made up’ within this time, there will be no extra charge.
If 3 weeks have passed and the lesson was unable to be ‘made up’ due to the unavailability of lesson slots, or notification of a missed lesson is received after 7.30am on the morning of the lesson (or not at all), the lesson becomes forfeit.
So as not to disadvantage any students whose lessons fall on public holidays, 3 offers to make up the missed lesson will be made within the Term in which the holiday occurred.
If the ‘make up’ times are not taken advantage of, the lesson becomes forfeit. The ‘make up’ offers will not extend into the following Term.
Easter break, when it occurs during Term time, is a non-teaching period. Students affected will receive a credit for their missed lesson.
Senior students (years 11 to 13) who have external examination requirements at the end of Term 4 will receive a discount on the final Term’s account to accommodate these commitments.
If I am available, students who miss a lesson during the final two weeks of term and whose ‘make up’ lesson was not able to be scheduled during term time will receive one offer of a lesson during the holidays. If this is not taken advantage of, the lesson becomes forfeit.
If appropriate (for example, in the case of mild sickness), students are welcome to attend their normal lesson on-line. Please let me know prior to the lesson so I can prepare appropriately.
EXTRA LESSONS
Any additional lessons (such as lessons during holidays or extra lessons in preparation for exams) will be charged for at the ‘extra’ lesson rate.
Lesson Length | Extra Lesson Rate |
|---|---|
30 Minutes | $37.50 |
40 Minutes | $50 |
50 Minutes | $62.50 |
60 Minutes | $75 |
* Please note that the ‘extra’ lesson rate is more than the Term lesson rate.
CANCELLED LESSONS
If I have to cancel a lesson due to ill health or unforeseen circumstances:
PANDEMIC TEACHING PROTOCOLS
Given that in-person lessons are not feasible with social distancing measures, and that students and I are within close proximity, I believe Piano Teaching meets the definition of a ‘close contact’ business. With that in mind, I am fully vaccinated and boosted.
In-Person Lessons
Provision of in-person lessons will be based on the 7-day rolling average of cases in the Southern region per 100,000 population.
When this figure reaches 100 or below, and stabilises at that level for a consecutive period of seven days, in-person lessons will be offered for students who would like them, beginning on the Monday of the following week.
Some fluctuation around the 100 mark is to be expected. However, if the rolling average figure begins to trend upwards again and is between 100 and 120 for seven consecutive days, then all lessons would be online from the following Monday. This assumes a slow rise in case numbers. If numbers are rising rapidly and the rolling average quickly passes the 120 threshold, I will make a decision on a case-by-case basis and teaching may immediately revert to online lessons only.
In all cases, I will provide advance notification of the change.
Wearing of Masks
Wearing masks by both myself, the student (and their parents if in attendance) will be a requirement for in-person lessons. Students are expected to have their own masks and be wearing them prior to entry to the Studio.
Vaccination Requirements
My expectation is that all students attending in person will be vaccinated, however I will only require evidence of vaccination when this aligns with Government mandates and recommendations.
General Unwellness
Anyone who arrives for an in-person lesson who is obviously unwell will not be permitted entry into the Studio (irrespective of whether they are wearing a mask) and will forfeit that lesson. Students who are unwell should either reschedule their lesson (see Absent Policy above), or request a Skype lesson for that day.
SUSPENDING LESSONS FOR A TERM
Suspending lessons is not encouraged, but for various reasons (extended sickness etc.) does happen from time to time. I am happy to keep a lesson slot vacant for a Term so that a student can resume lessons in the following Term, but given the slot is not being permanently vacated, I can not use it to take a student off my waiting list. Consequently, the full-term fees will need to be paid in advance as per usual. The student is free to resume regular lessons at any point during the Term, but must provide one weeks’ notice of their intention to do so.
Any student who wishes to suspend lessons, but does not wish to pay the fees for the period of suspension will forfeit their “lesson slot” which will then be offered to those students on the waiting list. In such cases, the student will have priority access (for a period of 18 months) to any new permanent lesson times that become available so that they have the option to resume lessons at the earliest opportunity.
Suspensions for periods of longer than one Term will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
STUDENT LENDING LIBRARY POLICY
In order to enable students to have regular access to sight reading material (without having to purchase multiple books themselves) I maintain a library of piano scores for this purpose.
I reserve the right to cease lending material to students who consistently lose books or return them in a less than satisfactory condition.
TECHNOLOGY ISSUES DURING ONLINE LESSONS
The Studio is set up with production quality equipment and gigabit internet access to reduce the risk of technology issues during a lesson. Students taking lessons online are expected to ensure that their equipment is available, fully charged (when not mains powered) and suitable for their lesson. However, from time to time issues outside our control will disrupt a lesson, and this policy is designed to address that situation.
Changes to Policy
This document is reviewed annually, and generally will not change during a teaching year. It forms part of the "Terms of Tuition" contract which all students (or parents) must sign before commencing lessons. However, I reserve the right to change this policy as necessary during the year, should circumstances arise that require an update. In those cases, I will provide a brief note below advising of any such changes made during the year.
Date | Reason for update |
|---|---|
12/12/2022 | Annual Update for 2023 |
17/04/2023 | Reduced Average Covid Target Number by 10 to account for under reporting |
No More Updates |